Why this ride
A 170 km round trip from Câţcău - roughly 3 h 17 in the saddle. On the way it passes Glod - Toaca Glodului 1, Lozna - Curmăturița 1, Tihău - Grădiște and Brebi - Dealul Mare 3.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului and Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 170 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 17
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
The name is a mouthful, and a good one: the Ridge of the Wolf's Clearing, on the hill of Muncel, above the Someș valley north-east of Dej. Somewhere along this wooded crest the Romans kept a lookout on the northern border of Dacia, watching the valleys for movement from the free tribes beyond. Watchtowers like this one were the eyes of the frontier, signalling to the forts below, and the site is part of the Dacian frontier inscribed by UNESCO in 2024. On the ground, expect very little: perhaps a low mound, a ditch or scattered stones under the trees. It is a place for imagination and a walk rather than a monument.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is where the day begins. Next is Glod - Toaca Glodului 1.
2. Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
Between Dej and Jibou the Someș river squeezes through a narrow, winding valley, with the railway, the road and the river taking turns to cross each other. On the hills above, near the village of Glod and the larger villages of Rus and Ileanda, the Romans kept a watch on the north-western edge of Dacia, and Toaca Glodului is one of their watchtower positions, among the components of UNESCO's Dacian frontier listing. Toaca is the name of the wooden board struck in Romanian monasteries to call the monks to prayer, and the hill may owe its name to its shape or to some long-forgotten story.
Read the complete Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Lozna - Curmăturița 1.
3. Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Lozna is a village in the northern hills of Sălaj county, close to the Someș river, a place of small farms, orchards and wooden houses, and Curmăturița is a saddle in the hills above it, where a Roman watchtower is thought to have stood. The northern frontier of Roman Dacia ran through this area, following ridges and river valleys, and small towers and forts were placed to watch over the approaches. Today there is little to see, but the view from the saddle, over the rolling hills and the Someș valley, is lovely, and it explains why the Romans chose the spot.
Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Lozna - Curmăturița 1. Next is Tihău - Grădiște.
4. Tihău - Grădiște
The Someș river makes its way through the hills of north-western Romania between Cluj and Baia Mare, and near the small town of Jibou, in Sălaj county, it passes through a narrow valley guarded on its slopes by the remains of a Roman fort. The site, known locally as Grădiște, which simply means old fort, lies above the village of Tihău, close to Surduc and Gâlgău Almașului.
Read the complete Tihău - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tihău - Grădiște, about halfway. Next is Brebi - Dealul Mare 3.
5. Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Most people who know the Roman Empire think of Hadrian's Wall or the Rhine, but there was also a Roman frontier in the hills of north-western Transylvania, and this is part of it. The province of Dacia Porolissensis was guarded by a line of forts and wooden watchtowers on ridge tops, and the great fort and customs station at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was its centre. UNESCO added the Dacia Porolissensis frontier to its listing of Roman frontiers in 2024. Brebi lies close to Porolissum, and the ridge called Dealul Mare gives a sense of why the Romans chose these hills: wide views over the valleys and the approaches from the north.
Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 sits at 70 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tihău - Grădiște.
6. back through Tihău - Grădiște
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tihău - Grădiște write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tihău - Grădiște comes up about 106 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1.
7. back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lozna - Curmăturița 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 126 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1. Next is back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1.
8. back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1, late in the day. Next is Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului.
9. Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 170 km.
Leg by leg
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului to Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului → Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 to Lozna - Curmăturița 1
Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 → Lozna - Curmăturița 1 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 to Tihău - Grădiște
Lozna - Curmăturița 1 → Tihău - Grădiște is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tihău - Grădiște to Brebi - Dealul Mare 3
Tihău - Grădiște → Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 to back through Tihău - Grădiște
Brebi - Dealul Mare 3 → back through Tihău - Grădiște is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tihău - Grădiște to back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1
back through Tihău - Grădiște → back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 to back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1
back through Lozna - Curmăturița 1 → back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 to Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului
back through Glod - Toaca Glodului 1 → Muncel - Muchia Poienii Lupului is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.